1 Corinthians Review continued

As we continue our review of 1st Corinthians, we know that another issue that Paul addressed was spiritual gifts.  Some of those in the church at Corinth felt that certain spiritual gifts made them somehow better than those with what the saw as having lesser spiritual gifts.  Paul reminded them that all spiritual gifts are from God, and that all are necessary to effectively spread the gospel and to edify the church.  I believe that Paul was teaching us that we are never to covet any other spiritual gift than the one or ones that God has given us.  There is no gift that makes one person more important than others.  We may feel that preachers are more important or morally superior to other Christians, but this is not what the Bible teaches us.  We are all just sinners saved by the grace of God who then are called on to use the gift or gifts that God has given us.  We are never to covet any spiritual gift or to look down on others because we feel that our gift or gifts are superior to that of someone else.  Paul also said that when we use our spiritual gift that it should lead to a clear advancement of the gospel and the edification of the church.  Even early in the church, there were those who were proclaiming that some gifts were a sign that some Christians were superior to others, and it seems that speaking in tongues was one of those gifts.  Paul reminded them, and teaches us, that speaking in tongues, or unknown languages, was a gift for reaching other people and not a sign of moral superiority to any other Christian.  As Paul reminded the church at Corinth, God is not the author of confusion, but of unity through Christ.  Another issue that had arisen concerned the resurrection of the dead.  Paul told those believers at Corinth that without the resurrection of the dead there was no hope at all, not in this life or the one to come.  This will never change.  If Christ did not overcome the power of death by His resurrection, then everything we put our faith in world be a lie and we would be as Paul said most miserable.  If this life on earth is all there is, then we would be justified in living life for our own best interests.  Since through Christ, we know that this life is but a brief prelude to the everlasting life that we know is ours, we need to live under the Lordship of Christ.  Of course, even those who deny the resurrection will one day know of the certainty of it, but unfortunately it will be to late for them to claim redemption that has already been made available through Christ.  Because of salvation and everlasting life through Christ, we are to live life not just for ourselves, but to reach others with the gospel and to put them above our own selfish desires.  We are to follow the example of Christ and pray to God that not our will but His be done, now and forever.  We are going to the book of Job next.

1Corinthians Review

As we review 1st Corinthians, we can first say that it was written partially to correct problems that had arisen in the church at Corinth.  When problems do arise in the church, especially a local body of believers, we cannot just ignore them, but we must get to the root of the problem so it can be corrected. The longer a problem is allowed to exist, the more problems it can cause to our witness for God.  Paul said that some of the believers at Corinth were acting superior to others because of who had led them to Christ.  There is no room for any Christian to feel superior to any other Christian in the church, local or universal.  We may each be led to the Lord through the witnessing of different people, but we are equally saved by the same Person, Jesus Christ.  I believe we can also be sure that if Christian leaders have become aware of problems in a local congregation that the lost people of the world will be also, but the lost, the non-believers will exploit the trouble to attempt to discredit the church.  Paul said there were some false teachers in the congregation at Corinth.  These false teachers were more interested in glorifying themselves than they were in glorifying God.  We cannot look at the history of the church as a whole and deny that at times there have been false teachings that have entered the church.  I believe in the United States, for example, that one issue was the teaching on slavery and the issues that still linger on relationships between the races.  I know that some Christians say that slavery existed in Bible times, and that is true, but the Bible does not endorse slavery or the concept of a superior race.  We know that the people of Israel, the Hebrews or Jews as they are referred to in various places, were God's chosen people in the world, but it was not because they were superior to anyone else due to their own goodness.  God chose them to work through to reveal Himself to the world.  At times, it seems that non Christians have to take a stand against moral injustice in the world before Christians do, and even then it is somewhat reluctantly.  The church, God's redeemed people, need to be at the forefront of working against moral injustice, and not just reluctantly standing up against what is wrong.  I believe that as long as we as followers of Christ see the world in terms of any person or group of people being morally superior to any other person or group based on anything other than a relationship with Christ we will never be as effective in witnessing to the world as we should be.  We are all but sinners saved by grace and equal in the eyes of God.

1 Corinthians 16:14

1 Corinthians 16:14 says, Let all your things be done with charity.  This should be the underlying principle for all our actions as followers of Christ.  As Paul instructs, we should do everything out of Christ like charity, or love, for all those around us.  We cannot act in this type love if we hold any ill will toward those we are witnessing to.  I think sometimes we want to keep certain people from having an opportunity to respond to the gospel simply because we feel that they don't deserve forgiveness.  Paul tells us that we need to act out of love for all people, and he was writing in a time when Christians were being actively persecuted.  We are not called on to determine who is worthy of salvation, because none are.  Verse fifteen adds, I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)  Paul paused in his statement to commend the house of Stephanas, or Stephen, for their addiction to the ministry of the saints.  We should hope that we today could be viewed the same way.  Paul said that the house of Stephen were the first fruits in Achaia.  They may have been new believers in Christ, but they were already addicted to sharing Christ and uplifting the church, which is what our ministry should always be.  Verse sixteen continues, That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.  Paul had said that I beseech you, and here he told them what he wanted to implore them to do.  Paul told them to submit to those who, like Stephen, were addicted to the gospel, and to everyone that was working to spread the gospel.  I don't believe that Paul meant that we are to be subservient to other Christians, but that we are to minister to their needs as much as possible so they can serve God more effectively.  Verse seventeen states, I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied. At this point, Paul could not go to them, so he was glad that these three had come to Him.  We should always be willing to help share in the ministry of others.  Paul said that what was lacking on the part of the church at Corinth as a whole had been supplied by these three men.  Matthew Henry says that they were able to give Paul a more accurate report of what was going on in the church at Corinth.  Though we are not told specifically what they supplied, it was something that lifted Paul's spirit.  Verse eighteen adds, For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such. When fellow Christians come to us in a time of need, we should always have our spirit lifted.  Verse nineteen continues, The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. Though a church is a local body of believers, the church overall is all the local bodies working together. We should greet the other churches as often as possible and pray for them always.  The church is not a building, but believers meeting together, as they were at the home of Aquila and Priscilla, and then going into the community to spread the gospel.  Verse twenty says, All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss. I believe that once more we can see that Paul is telling us that we are to rejoice in all the other believers that we come in contact with.  Verse twenty-one adds, The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand.  Evidently Paul had some else actually write down most of the letter, but he wrote the last part himself.  This could have been to authenticate the letter.  Verse twenty-two continues, If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.  Paul tells us that anyone who does not love Christ, and I believe acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior, then we are not to allow them to corrupt the church.  We are to be separated from them.  This does not mean we don't witness to them, but that we do not let their lack of belief or even their speaking against Christ to cause trouble in the church.  Verse twenty-three states, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  There is no better place for a Christian to be than in the grace of Jesus Christ.  It is His grace that saves and sustains us.  Verse twenty-four, Paul closes saying, My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. The first epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi by Stephanas, and Fortunatus, and Achaicus, and Timotheus.  Paul tells them that his love for them through Christ was for all of them, not just those who may have boasted of being saved by Paul's witnessing to them.

1 Corinthians 16:10

1 Corinthians 16:10 says, Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without fear: for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do.  Paul asked them to treat Timotheus, or Timothy, with as much respect as they would have for Paul himself.  Though Timothy was young, and Paul had asked him to go, he wasn't Paul's replacement, but a minister himself.  We cannot serve as a replacement for anyone else but must go under the power and leadership of the Holy Spirit.  We do not need to put certain Christians above others and feel that they alone know the truth of the gospel.  Paul did not place himself in a superior position to other Christians but said he would do all that he could to win the lost to Christ.  I believe he expected the same from others, just as we today must make sure the spreading of the gospel is the priority of each Christian.  Verse eleven adds, Let no man therefore despise him: but conduct him forth in peace, that he may come unto me: for I look for him with the brethren.  I believe Paul was asking them to treat Timothy with the respect that they would show Paul.  There were problems in the church that Timothy was going to be addressing, but Paul reminded them that they were not to despise them for this.  If we today have allowed problems to arise in the church, we need to respect those who are sent by the Holy Spirit to correct the problems.  Above all else, Timothy was coming under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse twelve continues, As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren: but his will was not at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient time.  The Christians at Corinth might have been divided as those baptized by Paul and those baptized by Apollos, but I believe that Paul was letting them know there was no jealousy or division between the two of them.  If people today begin to elevate one preacher above another, the best way to stop such foolish talk is for the preachers to show that they are united in doing God's work.  No preacher can allow himself to be viewed as better than any other and remain true to the gospel.  To carry the thought a little further, no preacher can allow himself to be viewed as more important than any other Christian.  The emphasis must always be on presenting Christ to the world and not on bringing glory to oneself.  Verse thirteen concludes, Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.  I believe Paul is instructing us to stand strong in our faith, even when we are being persecuted for that faith.  Persecution was a definite possibility then, and we know that in many countries today it is a reality.  Paul tells us that even if that persecution comes to us, we are to stand strong in faith.

1 Corinthians 16:1

1 Corinthians 16:1 says, Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.  Paul told the church at Corinth that they needed to be ready to help the church at Jerusalem by sharing their material blessings with them.  We as God's church today should always be ready to help those churches that are in need financially.  We cannot afford to look only to our own local body of believers.  Verse two adds, Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.  Paul instructed them to make this collection on the first day of the week, which is the Lord's Day.  I believe if we put off doing the work of God until later or a more convenient time, we will never get anything done.  Of course, just because we gather to worship on the first day of the week does not mean that we can forget God for the rest of the week.  We need to realize also that God is the One Who prospers us.  We are to share with those less fortunate than us because we owe everything to God anyway if we are His followers.  Verse three continues, And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.  Paul restated his plan to come to them, but he wasn't going to take their collection personally.  Paul asked them to approve people by letter to send the collection by.  I believe we can learn from this.  If we are dealing with money, it is best to select people who we know we can trust to take care of it, especially if it relates to the church.  In verse four Paul states, And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me.  Paul said that if it was best at that time, those selected would accompany him to deliver the gift.  He never said he would just take it himself if he could with no one else along.  I believe he did this to prevent any possibility of people saying that he was just using the gospel for his benefit.  There would be no perception of any misuse of this collection for others being used by Paul himself.  We need to be as accountable today.  Verse five adds, Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia.  I believe Paul was telling them an approximate time when he would be there so they could have everything ready.  I believe that we today need to be organized in the way we serve God.  Many people say that they don't believe in organized religion, but I believe that God expects His followers to be organized in what they do.  This doesn't mean everything has to be determined beforehand, but as a rule we need to worship and serve God in an organized manner.  Paul did not say he knew exactly what he was going to do, but he did know that the collection that he had asked them to make needed to go to where it was needed.  No follower of Christ can make everything contingent on him or her alone, and neither can any church. Verse six continues, And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go.  Paul said he might winter with them.  He was not talking about taking a vacation but about having a time to fellowship with and edify them as they helped him strengthen his faith and rest his body before continuing to go to other places to witness.  We need the fellowship of other believers to strengthen our faith as we witness for Christ.  Verse seven says, For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.  Paul said that his desire was to spend some time in fellowship with them, but that depended on the leadership of Christ.  We today may make plans for how we are going to serve God, but those plans need to be based on following the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse eight adds, But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.  Paul had told them to have everything ready for when he got there, but that he wasn't coming immediately.  Verse nine continues, For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.  I believe that when God opens a great door of opportunity to witness for Him that we like Paul can expect opposition from those who would deny the existence of God, but we need to be ready to witness when God opens that door, no matter the opposition.

1 Corinthians 15:45

1 Corinthians 15:45 says, And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.  Paul tells us that this body that we have is more than physical.  We, unlike the other animals, have a living soul.  God breathed His spirit into mankind, but the physical body is still mortal.  Paul then tells us that the second Adam, Jesus Christ, brings us life, just as the first Adam brought us death.  Verse forty-six adds, Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.  We first have a physical body before we have the spiritual one.  We might wonder why God did not just give us that spiritual body to begin with.  I believe that it goes back to free will. Had we been given that spiritual, everlasting body to begin with, we would have never had to decide whether to put our faith in God or not.  Verse forty-seven continues, The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.  The physical body was created from the dirt of the earth.  We were not sent down from heaven to occupy a physical body but were born a physical body with a soul.  Just as Adam was not a spiritual being sent down from God but a physical being created by God, so are we.  We may think we can create life without God, but we never will be able to.  Jesus Christ, the second man, did indeed come down from heaven, but He alone has this distinction.  Verse forty-eight states, As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.  I believe that Paul is reminding us that the physical body is earthly and as such must pass away before we can have that spiritual body through Christ.  There is a separation between the earthly and the heavenly, and it can only be bridged by Christ.  We are called on to die daily to the physical things of life that we might live by the spiritual direction of God.  Verse forty-nine adds, And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.   We are born in the image of created man, the physical image created by God, but we, as followers of Christ, also bear the image of Christ spiritually, or the heavenly image.  Verse fifty continues, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.  I believe what Paul is telling us is that we need not be concerned about the old physical body which is corrupted by sin.  It will never be incorruptible.   Verse fifty-one says, Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,  I believe Paul was telling us that not all Christians will have died when Christ returns.  He may have even believed that Christ would return before all those alive then died, but the fact remains that some Christians will be alive whenever He does return.  Still, we will be changed from the corruptible creature that we are.  Verse fifty-two adds, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  Paul tells us that this will not be a long, drawn-out process, and it will be for both the living and the dead.  The dead will be raised incorruptible, and the living will be changed the same way.  All this will occur instantaneously.  Verse fifty-three continues, For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  We will be changed into incorruptible beings, but we will not become more than what God created us to be, and that is His servants.  We do not become gods of any sort.  Verse fifty-four states, So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.  Paul is telling us that when Christ returns that death will have its final defeat.  Though through Christ we already have the ultimate victory over death, when Christ returns and we are changed into that incorruptible body, there will no longer be even the physical death we may endure now.  Verse fifty-five adds, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  Death will no longer have any power over us, and the grave will give up those who have gone before Christ's return.  Verse fifty-six continues, The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  Paul tells us because of sin death came into the world, and that by the law of God we can only be pronounced guilty of sin.  There is only One Who ever lived life free of sin, and that is Jesus Christ.  Verse fifty-seven declares, But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  We cannot save ourselves, but we can praise God for making salvation possible through the sacrifice of Christ.  Verse fifty-eight adds, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.  Paul tells us to be steadfast in our faith in Christ and to be abounding in our work for God.  As long as we put our faith in our salvation through Christ, we can be assured that we are His forever.  We need to have an unwavering faith as we abound in the work of God.

1 Corinthians 15:33

1 Corinthians 15:33 says, Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.  Paul had just stated that if there was no resurrection that we should just eat and drink and enjoy life until we die. There were those then, as there are those today, who proclaim this to be the best way to live, but Paul said that we are not to listen to this evil communication.  We must understand that anyone who denies the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is guilty of evil communication, and we are to never listen to what they are saying.  Verse thirty-four adds, Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.  Paul was still addressing the church at Corinth in this letter, but the principles still apply today.  We need to awake to righteousness, to following the will of God.  I believe Paul was warning them that not all those who professed to be Christians had a knowledge of God, and yet they would attempt to lead others to their beliefs.  This has not changed today.  Many profess to be Christians who have not awakened to the righteousness of God and to not give in to sin.  Verse thirty-five continues, But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?   Paul stated that some were still questioning the resurrection of the dead and wondering what kind of body they would have.  We today may wonder about the nature of the resurrected body, but Paul tells us that this is nothing we need to be concerned with.  We simply need to claim the truth of the resurrection.  Verse thirty-six states, Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:  Paul said it was foolish to worry about the physical body, and that we should learn from planting seeds.  In order to grow a new plant, or to resurrect itself, the seed must die.  This old body will pass away.  Even those who are alive when Christ returns will be charged in the twinkling of an eye we are told.  Verse thirty-seven adds, And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:  Paul tells us that when we plant a seed that we don't expect to get that seed back, but we plan to get something much greater.  I believe Paul was saying that the same is true of the resurrected body.  We will have a body that is much greater than this present one.  Verse thirty-eight continues, But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.  Paul tells us God is in charge of the production of crops from seed, and He is likewise in charge of the resurrected body.  Verse thirty-nine says, All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.  No matter how much we people may attempt to put other animals on par with human beings, they will never be the same.  People have an immortal soul, and the other animals do not.  Verse forty adds, There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.  Paul changes his discourse from living things to the planets and stars.  He tells us that they are not all viewed with the same glory.  We need to simply look to poor Pluto to see this is true.  For years, Pluto was a planet, then it wasn't, and I am not even sure its status today.  Verse forty-one continues, There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.  Paul continues this thought here.  Not all of the stars receive the same glory.  We know that we need the sun more than we need any other star.  After comparing the glory of the stars,  Verse forty-two states, So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:  Paul returns to the resurrection of the body. He tells us that the old body is sown, or buried, in corruption.  This body that we now have has been corrupted by sin, but the resurrected body will not be so.  Verse forty-three Paul adds, It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:  I believe Paul is telling us that we should not even want this old body back, because we are going to receive on that is so much better.  Verse forty-four continues, It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.  Paul reminds us that what we have is a natural body, but what we will have in the resurrection is a spiritual body.  We know that the physical body will pass away, but the spiritual body, whatever its form may be, will last forever.  We can rely on God to give us the body that is best for us without the corruption that it now suffers.